Why are you telling me that you're going to be great...in a FEW YEARS?

All names and references to actual company have been deleted from the following. Mainly because I feel badly for them (please know this is from a major player that has a budget and, apparently, a lot of new brains on board). They've also advised me they're going to change the digital space.

I point that out because I know you folks haven't heard that before. 

Dear CK:

It’s an exciting time for CompanyWithoutAClue (CWAC). With three recent hires hailing from top-tier e-commerce companies, CWAC, has poised the division for significant growth over the next few years.

(OK, so in a few years this will be newsworthy?)

Illustrating the company’s focus on elevating its digital commerce business, TalkingHead#1 has brought in world-class talent to help drive innovation, operational excellence and a best-in-class consumer experience in the digital space.

(OK, so, again, in a few years you'll be innovative?)

New team members TalkingHead #2, TalkingHead #3 and TalkingHead #4 have rich and varied backgrounds in merchandising, strategic planning and innovation development at past companies such as Blah, Blah, Blah and Blah.

(OK, I have a list of amazing clients that I can name-drop and a bevy of experience in disciplines both miraculous and myriad, too. But my clients only care if I yield results for them in the near-term, not a few years from now.)
 
Let me know if you would like further information on these new team members, or if you’d like to speak with TalkingHead#1 to get an inside look at CWAC.

(I'll pass on the interview, I've a busy marketing practice and I respect my readers' time too much. But I will use this "outreach" as learning example.)

Questions for you smart marketers:

#1: Where do I enter into this correspondence? No, really, where is any benefit, hook or reason for me to care listed in this correspondence? I'm looking for just one.

I shouldn't have to look.

#2: More importantly, where is anything valuable for YOU lovely readers in this correspondence? B-to-B marketing is about pinpointing our customers needs and problems.

And then always going one BIG step further--and solving THEIR customers' needs and problems.

What most turns my smile upside down? Everything I've pointed out is marketing 101. I know there are steep learning curves in this Webby x 2 world...but if you don't grasp the basics, then all the world class talent and innovation are for naught.

And I mean all for naught right now...not a few years from now.

In this Age of Conversation it's a "show don't tell" world. I know it seems ironic and all but so long as you have something to show then it's at that point to start telling others--and telling them what it means to them.

May not be innovative but it is effective.

In their defense, at least they did get coverage on my little blog. So maybe I am just a puppet after all ;-).

Comments

[Cece Salomon-Lee]

But CK, only they know who they are in your post! :-p I've got to add this to my list of don'ts for pitching bloggers.

[CK]

@CeCe: Sorry 'bout that. It's the PR agency for Nike.

I've a whole list of do's and don't for PR pitches...and the link is below. BUT the problem with this pitch isn't the demeanor so much as it's devoid of marketing basics. That's what concerns me here. Thanks for reading and here's that link:

http://www.ck-blog.com/cks_blog/2007/04/pitch_policy_le.html

[Tangerine Toad]

What's worse is it reads like spam.
Like they just sent it out to a mass of people and figured "well, if just one of them reads it, we did out work."
Forgetting, of course, how much they pissed off everyone else.

[Steve Woodruff]

But, CK, they have WORLD-CLASS talent in order to bring BEST-IN-CLASS consumer experience ... so they must be one classy organization! I'm sure, with all this top-tier talent for innovation, that they have the next Google right around the corner...